What should employers do with an employee’s Form I-9 after the employee leaves the company? It’s a best practice that employers purge the I-9, according to the form’s retention requirements. This step is often neglected in an organization’s Form I-9 maintenance process – and it increases risk. Listen to our podcast to find out why.
It’s no easy task to stay on top of purging I-9s. It can be hard for HR staff to keep track of the retention timeline for each Form I-9 in the company, especially with how often employees may come and go.
When to Purge a Form I-9?
Employers must calculate when an I-9 should be purged from their files. They determine the dates for:
- three years after the employee’s initial date of hire
- one year after the date employment is terminated
Then, the employer should purge the I-9 on whichever date is later.
Don’t Delay and Put Your Company at Risk
These best practices help ensure your organization manages this step correctly.
- If you maintain paper Form I-9s, purge the form and all supporting documents.
- If you maintain electronic Form I-9s, purge the image of the I-9, any electronic copies of supporting documents,and all audit records associated with the form.
- Keep Form I-9s separate from personnel files.
- Avoid purging I-9s yearly or quarterly. This step should be an ongoing process.
- There could be the rare occasion when your legal department requests that you retain copies of Forms I-9 that may be subject to further or ongoing litigation.
- Consider an electronic solution like I-9 management from Equifax. It provides a comprehensive repository of all of your I-9s. When combined with the Work Number, it can calculate retention requirements and automatically purge documents.
For more information on this topic, listen to the Workforce Wise
podcast. While you’re there, check out our other episodes — and don’t forget to subscribe if you like what you hear.
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